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Fun Finds Friday #120

Friday, February 26


  • Why would you need any other kind of shelving unit?!
  • Now the cats can have pizza on pizza nights too!
  • OMG THE PUNS... I can't handle it!!
  • How cute is this washi tape?!

Also,
Happy Friday!!!

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Nancybird Love

Tuesday, February 23


top / pants / scarf / bag / shoe

Seeing as this isn't a fashion blog, I don't usually spotlight brands or designers. But, since I do like to share things I love, I thought it only appropriate to share this brand that I'm really diggin' right now... it reminds me of Eileen Fisher (a brand I've always admired but have never been able to afford either); but more youthful, colorful, and playful.

Nancybird is based out of Melbourne, and unfortunately you can only find their products in Australia and New Zealand. I stumbled upon them last year though and have been admiring their style ever since! I love the patterns and silhouettes of their clothes... that's a silhouette I've always admired (it exudes comfort while still looking put together) and I'm working towards bringing some of my wardrobe closer to that look.

Here's a peek at their lookbook!


(All the images in this post are from the Nancybird website!)

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Fun Finds Friday #119

Friday, February 19



Also,

Happy Friday!!!

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Snapshots

Tuesday, February 16














Latest happenings....
  • I managed to lock myself out of the apartment this week when I went downstairs to do laundry. Thank goodness Shawn only works a half mile from home! I sprinted over there to grab his keys, coat, and hat... (thankfully I had a sweatshirt and flats on!) I may have caught a cold because of my silliness though... it was only 14°F that day! At least the laundry was dry when I got home.
  • Shawn sleeps in most mornings but I pretty much wake up at 7am on the dot. Since we don't feed the cats until 9:30am, that pretty much means 2.5 hours of constant fluff in my face. They love to knock things off of my desk and chew on all the paper.
  • Their pain-in-the-butt-iness is more than balanced out by how cute they are though. Kaylah sent Lloyd a little catnip filled beaver for his first Christmas with us (almost 3 years ago!!) and it is still the most loved toy in their arsenal. Every morning we wake up to it laying outside our bedroom door.... I'm fairly certain that's Sylvester's doing.
  • Like a lot of kids, I grew up with an immense love of Nutella... I could eat that stuff every day and never tire of it. I recently re-discovered two jars I had forgot about in our cabinet and was incredibly underwhelmed. It just doesn't taste like it used to! Has anyone else found this? I'm curious to buy some imported Nutella and see how it compares to this domestic crap. (Yeah, I said it.) It could be worth the higher price tag.
  • We went to the record store and although Shawn didn't find anything he was looking for, I made out with three records for about $5! Interestingly enough, that was one day before Maurice White died, so I consider that Best of Earth Wind & Fire record a great find.

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A Love Letter to Trader Joe's

Saturday, February 13


My dearest TJ -

Oh, how I love thee; you make me weak in the knees. I have come to rely upon your ever-growing selection of soul-satisfying goods. Although your produce is often lacking, I find an immeasurable amount of joy in the many packaged goods that you offer. The low prices, the lack of gut-wrenching additives, and the forever-positive demeanor of your staff are what keep me coming back to you, time and time again. If I could buy you a bouquet of roses to prove my love for you, I would... but you already greet me with them upon my arrival, each and every time.

But what I adore the most is that you provide me comfort in the most trying of hours. Your Chai spice latte mix helps break up the brain fog that mornings generally bestow upon me. Such a sweet nectar, it is. The perfect blend of warmth, comfort, and fullness that my body craves during the cold dark early hours of the day. And in the evenings, after my mind and body have been hardened by the day's activities, I find the same comfort in your tonic water when paired with one of my many botanic spirits. (Now, let's be honest - I do believe the spirits are doing much of the work, but the tonic is a suitable companion in it's own right!) One simply cannot deny the reality of these simple pleasures.

Even on the shortest of visits, I find something new to admire about you. And yes, I am aware that you have many admirers, but I do believe that my love for you will never die.

Forever yours,
Marine


Brought to you in silliness, in light of tomorrow's "holiday". I'm serious though, their chai latte mix is AWESOME (and so much cheaper than *bucks!) and I was so very pleased to see that they recently started carrying tonic water, as it is nearly impossible to find corn syrup-free tonic anywhere around here. Trader Joe's gets two giant thumbs up in my book!

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Fun Finds Friday #118

Friday, February 12



Also,

Happy Friday!!!

Psst! I still can't get the 'Leave a Comment' link to show up on the blog's main page, but comments still work! Just click on the title of a post and scroll down to the bottom of the post, the comment blurb is right down there ;)

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Potato Leek Soup

Wednesday, February 10

The other day I was walking through the produce aisle of our local grocery store and I saw some leeks. The first thought that popped into my mind was "potato leek soup!!". I didn't buy them that day, but I did mention them to Shawn and the first thing he said was "potato leek soup!", so then it was decided. I would make potato leek soup.

And so I did! And it was delicious, of course. It brought me back to my childhood... dinner sitting around the circular table in the kitchen with my family, my mom ladling pureed vegetable soup into our bowls and topping each with a dollop of cream. Little did I know then how gosh-darn simple it is to make soup like that! If I had known, I would have made this a long time ago. Now, I don't have five mouths to feed, and I had a borrow a friend's blender, but I think my mom may have been on to something because we've been eating soup all week!


Potato Leek Soup

Adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 quart vegetable stock
salt and pepper, to taste
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup light cream
minced parsley

- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped leek and potato and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft and fragrant.
- Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and break apart easily.
- In small batches, carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. (If the vegetables are tender, this will take just a few seconds for each batch.)
- Return the blended soup to a pot or large bowl. Add the cream, lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Portion out into bowls and top with a dollop of cream and a sprinkle of minced parsley.
- Enjoy!


Psst! I still can't get the 'Leave a Comment' link to show up on the blog's main page, but comments still work! Just click on the title of a post and scroll down to the bottom of the post, the comment blurb is right down there ;)

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Things to Remember

Monday, February 8

I was going to post a recipe today, but then I started going through my drafts and found this list.
Today seemed like as good a day as any to post it.


A list of things to remember as an adult....
  • Eat what you want, in moderation.
  • Exercise when you can.
  • Don't make excuses.
  • Remember, quality over quantity.
  • Appreciate the little things.
  • Appreciate the big things.
  • Say please and thank you, often.
  • Don't sweat the small stuff.
  • Ok, you're an adult... Sweat the small stuff, but not too much.
  • Breathe.

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The Cats Lately

Thursday, February 4














It has taken a little over a year and a half, but Lloyd has finally accepted Sylvester as a fellow family member. Not that they were ever bad with each other to begin with.... Lloyd was skeptical when we first introduced them; I think he just figured it was a temporary thing and he wouldn't have to put up with another cat for very long. But Sylvester has been trying to be friends with Lloyd from the beginning- snuggling up to him while he sleeps, following him around the apartment, sleeping in every empty nap spot that Lloyd leaves unattended... but until recently Lloyd never wanted much to do with Sylvester. Now Lloyd is the one who cuddles up to him! It is so adorable coming home and finding them curled up together on the couch or on the bed. They truly are the yin and yang of cats.

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Snapshots

Tuesday, February 2


















Favorite things lately:
  • I got a big pack of succulent notecards to send out with my Poshmark purchases, but they're so pretty that I think I'm going to hold on to most of them and tape them to the wall. Our office needs some love.... I have a few extra days off next week and intend to tend to it.
  • Sad cookie. (See above.)
  • Ghost Lloyd. (See above.)
  • We finally got snow! And lots of it! Even better than that though? Our town has done an amazing job of post-snow-clean-up. That makes me happy too! Apparently certain places in the city didn't fare as well, but I suppose that's one benefit of living in the suburbs....
  • We also got a new shower curtain, because ours was getting old and.... well, gross. The new one is simple but fun, and I love the amount of light it lets into the bathroom!
  • I finally got to see my hair dresser after 6+ months of waiting! (She had a baby in October and only recently went back to work.) She curled my hair for me because I don't know how to do it myself. I want it to look like that all the time!
  • I've been doing the bread baking at work the past few Fridays, and I'm really diggin' it. It's even more satisfying than pulling cookies out of the oven! I bake 40 loaves on Fridays! I'm pretty sure I'll be doing the Friday bakes for the foreseeable future.

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